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Three people were killed and nine others injured when a man randomly stabbed and struck victims with a vehicle in the San Jose area, officials said.
Kevin Parkourana, 31, of San Jose was in custody in connection with the attacks Thursday, police from San Jose and the adjacent city of Milpitas announced Friday.
“We ended the crime spree,” Milpitas Police Chief Jared Hernandez said at a news conference Friday. “We were able to effectively prevent additional people from being injured.”
Parkourana was booked on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and carjacking in connection with the violence in both cities, San Jose Police Chief Anthony Mata said at the news conference.
The attacks were “random acts of violence, there was no targeting of individuals,” Mata said.
Charges have not been formally filed, and the area public defender had no comment.
The spree began shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday in San Jose, when the suspect stabbed a victim and carjacked a Honda Odyssey minivan blocks from his own home, local Deputy Chief Steve Lagorio said.
That victim was stabilized at a hospital, he said.
Roughly 20 minutes later, the suspect ditched the minivan and took another vehicle, a Honda Pilot SUV, by stabbing a motorist in a parking lot in San Jose, Lagorio said. The suspect, behind the wheel, then struck a pedestrian, he said.
Both victims were hospitalized and stabilized by medical personnel, Lagorio said.
About 4 p.m. the suspect allegedly used the Pilot to strike a vehicle in downtown San Jose, he said. The man then stabbed the motorist inside, Lagorio said.
The victim sustained injuries not believed to be life-threatening, he said.
Minutes later the suspect, still behind the wheel of the SUV, “intentionally struck” three people near a San Jose intersection, Lagorio said. Two of the three died at the scene, he said.
A short time later, the suspect struck a person on a motorized scooter in San Jose, he said.
The rider and the third pedestrian struck had non life-threatening injuries, police said.
About 4:32 p.m. a stabbing took place at a Smart & Final store parking lot in adjacent Milpitas, and the SUV was found abandoned nearby, police said.
The victim was pronounced dead at a hospital, said Hernandez, the Milpitas chief, at the news conference.
Officers in the city turned their attention to the Milpitas High School graduation ceremony underway nearby and flooded the area with law enforcement as a precaution, Hernandez said.
Tracking dogs alerted to the possibility the suspect was in the area, and at 6:15 p.m. Parkourana emerged from a parked car less than a quarter mile from the Smart & Final and surrendered without incident, Hernandez said.
The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner has not released the names of the victims who died.
The motive is under investigation.
Mata, the San Jose chief, said Parkourana is on probation.
Santa Clara County court records show a history of felony and misdemeanor convictions and dismissals since 2018 for the suspect. One of the felony cases with a conviction is described in a court docket as involving family violence.
In multiple instances the suspect was ordered to appear in Mental Health Treatment Court, the record shows. An active case involves a petition to revoke his post release community supervision, a program that moves inmates from state custody to local oversight.
A spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said the institution will not comment while the San Jose and Milpitas cases were still under investigation.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said at the Friday news conference that the system of enforcement and justice must be reinforced.
“When we’re dealing with individuals who are repeat offenders with multiple convictions, our city, county, and state must do a better job holding people accountable for getting the care that they need or getting them off of our streets,” he said.
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